Bunk beds are commonly used in applications where living space is limited, such as in small apartments and recreational vehicles. To further utilize living space in such applications, bunk beds often have sleeping decks that are hinged to the wall so that they can be pivoted into a storage position when not used. Folding bunk beds have been developed that are both manually and automatically operated. While popular for utilizing available living space, conventional manual and automatic folding bunk beds have several practical shortcomings.
Heretofore, the bed decks are hinged to the wall or a wall mounted frame at a fixed point, which limits the size of the bed decks to the height of the space above the decks. In a recreational vehicle application, where ceiling heights are relatively low, bed decks typically are limited to twin bed sizes. Consequently, a folding bunk bed that can accommodate larger bed decks is still desirable.
Furthermore, cables are used to support the bed decks in both manual and automatic folding bed decks. In automatic folding bunk beds, the cables are wound to winches that actuate the bed deck between their sleep and storage positions. Cable lengths and tensions must be matched precisely to ensure that the bed decks are level. Cable slack, binding and unspooling are frequent problems that seriously detract from the operation of cable actuated folding bunk beds. A more compact, safe and reliable automatic folding bunk bed is still desirable, particularly for applications where space and height is limited.